Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Sorvagen - A Fishing Village

We rose to
sunlight streaming in the windows. What joy! Grey skies and rain become wearing after a while. Emdee and Jaydee were still sleeping. Jaydee still had the car key so
Hubbie and I decided to walk to the nearest shop to get some basics for
breakfast. There was nothing at all in the cupboards, not even a grain of salt.

We walked
along, with me stopping to take photographs every few seconds. Luckily the shop wasn’t
too far away and Hubbie wasn't too hungry. Though the shop looked small it had a good range of goods. It even doubled as a pharmacy with medicines in a locked cabinet.

First on the
list was fresh crusty bread, then fruit -nectarines, kiwis and bananas - milk
and sugar for coffee and some washing powder to wash my clothes.

The others
were just up when we arrived back. We had breakfast, sitting on the terrace,
admiring the view. I had one of the kiwis. It came with a scoop. When I topped
it, it was yellow! I tasted it. It was like someone had made a bad cross with a
pineapple. It was soft and sweet. Hubbie then noticed a sticker saying “Kiwi
Gold” I’ll look out for that in future, to make sure I never buy them again.

Across the
harbour the Lofoten Wall rises dramatically. We could see a lake and a
waterfall. We decided to go for a walk to the waterfall. We told Emdee and
Jaydee to go ahead and we'd follow at our own pace or to be exact, my pace. I’m very unfit and walking uphill is not
my thing. I thought I might make it to the waterfall to take some pics. Because of
this, I brought the tripod. Sorry, I should say, Hubbie brought the tripod. The
scrabble over rock, to the waterfall was not to difficult and I took it in my
stride. Taking the photos was a different story. Even though I set up the
tripod I found it very hard to see the LCD screen on the back of my camera.
There is no view finder and I'm traditional, I like a viewfinder. Up to now it hasn't been a problem but in this bright sunlight I couldn't see a thing. Most of my photos turned out "flat". Michael Herrmann where were you when I needed you? I'm going to need more tuition! I tried several different settings but I could not get what I wanted. Grrr!!

We decided
to go a little higher. We followed a trail across a rickety bridge – a couple
of planks and on up the mountain. Well, I puffed and panted and Hubbie had to
take my hand and pull me up some of the “steps” but I made it to above the
falls. There was another lake up here. This time there was a proper wooden bridge cross the
stream. Water was being pumped from the lake. I imagine it was the local water
supply. From here, it flowed down the mountain in a waterfall. I was taking some photos on the bridge when
Hubbie decided it would be fun to rock it. The glare he got soon stopped that.
I’m a scaredy cat and rocking bridges are not my thing.

We met
Emdee and Jaydee at this point. They had climbed much higher and were on their
way back down. We returned to the lower lake together and ambled back to the
house. My left leg, which had been in agony the previous day, from the climb up
the tower of Nidaros Cathedral was now joined in it’s agony by the right one. They told me that the walking would get rid of the build up of lactic acid. Hmmm, not sure if it was successful! But I was so proud of myself for getting as far up as I did.....and I have the
photos to prove it.

Emdee
suggested we go out to eat that night as we were all tired after the walk. We
went to the local restaurant, Maren Anna. The staff appeared to be Italian and
were very helpful and full of fun. The catch of the day was halibut. I had
saike and Hubbie had a steak. The food was delicious. But we were certainly
still at Norwegian prices. €100 for 2 main courses. Wow! We’ll definitely be
eating in tomorrow.

Mary I always feel like I am right there with you on your adventures. And I just love your photos, and feel your pain and chafing when you try to get those perfect shots. I have found I am pretty much a failure and taking midday shots in bright sunlight, because I am blinded and can't tell what I am seeing, even THROUGH the viewfinder. But I would say your photos have turned out just gorgeous, and are going to look great added to your collection. :D